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Saturday, April 17, 2010

Journalist, counselor, painter, and US 2012 Presidential candidate Joe Schriner of Cleveland, Ohio took some time to discuss his campaign with Wikinews in an interview.

Schriner previously ran for president in 2000, 2004, and 2008, but failed to gain much traction in the races. He announced his candidacy for the 2012 race immediately following the 2008 election. Schriner refers to himself as the “Average Joe” candidate, and advocates a pro-life and pro-environmentalist platform. He has been the subject of numerous newspaper articles, and has published public policy papers exploring solutions to American issues.

Wikinews reporter William Saturn? talks with Schriner and discusses his campaign.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

The New Zealand government officials have announced that it will give NZ$160,000 in aid to help farmers who were affected by the huge amounts of snow in Canterbury, New Zealand two weeks ago.

The aid package will provide four regional offices for co-ordination, food supplies and ongoing support.

The Federated Farmers for mid Canterbury say that the aid will be a start to what looks like a tough winter. President of the mid Canterbury Federated Farmers Rupert Curd says, “It is too early to say exactly how much help the relief package will provide.”

The snow has not yet reached a crisis point.

The Insurance Council has estimated the cost of the snow storm has reached $35 million so far. Chief Executive of the Insurance Council says, “There has been damage to homes, commercial premises both on farms and in town and vehicles. Businesspeople who have been without power are also claiming for loss of income.”

The Minister of Agriculture Jim Anderton has said that they are not ruling out giving further aid.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Journalist, counselor, painter, and US 2012 Presidential candidate Joe Schriner of Cleveland, Ohio took some time to discuss his campaign with Wikinews in an interview.

Schriner previously ran for president in 2000, 2004, and 2008, but failed to gain much traction in the races. He announced his candidacy for the 2012 race immediately following the 2008 election. Schriner refers to himself as the “Average Joe” candidate, and advocates a pro-life and pro-environmentalist platform. He has been the subject of numerous newspaper articles, and has published public policy papers exploring solutions to American issues.

Wikinews reporter William Saturn? talks with Schriner and discusses his campaign.

Friday, December 25, 2020

In May, a study was published in journal Nature Astronomy, conducted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Dr Sara Seager and other researchers, showing single-celled organisms like Escherichia coli (E. coli) and yeast can thrive in both 100% hydrogen gas and helium atmospheres. Wikinews discussed the findings with Dr Seager to know more about her research.

Life has not been observed in any habitat other than Earth, which has an oxygen-rich environment. While Earth’s atmosphere is dominated by nitrogen gas, oxygen is essential for advanced living organisms. Some species of microorganisms do not require oxygen for metabolism, called anærobic organisms, such as methanogens which rely on carbon-dioxide while releasing methane.

Researchers used Escherichia coli strain K-12 and Saccharomyces cerevisiæ strain S288C for this experiment. The two microorganisms were kept in four different environments: one being 100% air, and the other three being anærobic environments: 100% H₂, 100% He, and 80%-20% N₂-CO₂. The environments were kept in at 28° Celsius. The researchers made sure the anaerobic experiment environments were anoxic, and had installed oxygen sensors to report fluctuation in the oxygen level. They monitored growth of E. coli using optical density measurement, and they used a hæmocytometer for yeast.

The study reported the organisms were reproducing normally in both 100% H₂ and 100% He environment. However, the sigmoid-shaped growth curve was not on par with 100% air. E. coli and yeast switch from ærobic respiration, which uses oxygen, to anærobic respiration and fermentation. Both processes are less efficient and do not produce as much energy as ærobic respiration.

E. coli in an 80%-20% N₂-CO₂ environment had slower growth rate as CO₂ dissolves and makes the liquid medium acidic. Such reduction in growth rate was not observed for yeast cultures, which can thrive in acidic environments. However, yeast’s growth rate in 100% air was far greater than in the other three media. The likely reason for this significant difference was lack of oxygen for non-respiratory purposes, the research reported. Oxygen is essential for synthesis of biochemicals such as heme and sterols, which are important for yeast. In atmospheres lacking oxygen to produce these chemicals, yeast fungi have stunted growth rate.

With this discovery, Dr Seager said scientists can now observe even more planets to study for habitable life.

“There’s a diversity of habitable worlds out there, and we have confirmed that Earth-based life can survive in hydrogen-rich atmospheres. We should definitely add those kinds of planets to the menu of options when thinking of life on other worlds, and actually trying to find it”, Professor Seager said.

A rocky planet with expanded hydrogen-rich atmosphere should be easy to detect using the emerging technologies. Hydrogen and helium gas have very low density. Dr Seager said, “It’s kind of hard to get your head around, but that light gas just makes the atmosphere more expansive […] And for telescopes, the bigger the atmosphere is compared to the backdrop of a planet’s star, the easier it is to detect.”

The research paper noted rocky planets which have radius below 1.7 times Earth’s radius (Earth’s radius is roughly 6360 km) can support a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, if water were to react with Iron.

The research paper reported E. coli releases a number of gases when it lives in hydrogen-based atmosphere including ammonia, methanethiol, dimethylsulfide, carbonyl sulfide, carbonyl disulfide and nitrous oxide. These gases can serve as biosignature gases which can help astronomers detect and study potential life on exoplanets.

Confirming life can thrive in atmospheres that do not have oxygen, Seager said “Astronomers should keep an open mind as to which planets are worth searching for life”.

With NASA’s James Webb Telescope scheduled to be deployed next year, the paper suggests researchers could observe smaller exoplanets that orbit small red-dwarf stars.

Friday, November 27, 2020

Voters in the Australian electoral district of Groom are scheduled to go to the polls in a by-election this week following the resignation of Liberal National MP John McVeigh for family reasons.

Groom is located in the state of Queensland, and is centred around the city of Toowoomba. At the last federal election, the Liberal National Party, Queensland’s dominant conservative party, won this seat by over 70% of the two-party-preferred vote, and since the seat’s creation in 1984, it has been held by conservative political parties.

Some political analysts considered this a foregone conclusion, with analyst Kevin Bonham having declared it on his blog as “Australia’s most boring by-election”, however Bonham noted the size of the swing may have been indicative of the dominant centre left Labor Party’s general performance in Queensland. There was a 4.2% swing against the Labor Party in the state of Queensland at the previous federal election.

Wikinews spoke to one of the four candidates running in the by-election, Sandra Jephcott, who is running for the Sustainable Australia party. Sustainable Australia describes itself as a “independent community movement from the political centre”. According to the party’s website, Jephcott is a veterinarian and farmer, who has completed a veterinary degree from the University of Queensland, as well as a Master of Business Affairs at Bond University and a Master of Science at James Cook University. With Wikinews, Jephcott discussed climate change, COVID-19, water security, and foreign ownership.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Journalist, counselor, painter, and US 2012 Presidential candidate Joe Schriner of Cleveland, Ohio took some time to discuss his campaign with Wikinews in an interview.

Schriner previously ran for president in 2000, 2004, and 2008, but failed to gain much traction in the races. He announced his candidacy for the 2012 race immediately following the 2008 election. Schriner refers to himself as the “Average Joe” candidate, and advocates a pro-life and pro-environmentalist platform. He has been the subject of numerous newspaper articles, and has published public policy papers exploring solutions to American issues.

Wikinews reporter William Saturn? talks with Schriner and discusses his campaign.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

A tornado, spawned from a large storm, has hit the United States city of Atlanta, Georgia, causing extensive damage throughout the city.

The National Weather Service confirmed Saturday morning that it was a tornado that struck the city. After reviewing the aftermath of the storm, they classified it as an EF2 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita scale. Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin says she is beginning to apply for federal disaster aid.

There have been no confirmed deaths, but the mayor’s spokeswoman says there may be dead victims trapped within the ruins of a collapsed loft complex. The Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts are located in the historic Cabbagetown neighborhood, where at least 20 homes were destroyed. “It looks like a bomb went off, it looks like World War III,” said Mahsud Olufani, who has an art studio in the neighbourhood. “It’s a disaster area.”

At least 27 people suffered injuries, mostly cuts and bruises. One person is reported to be in critical condition. Grady Memorial Hospital, where many of the injured were taken, had suffered some window damage but was still operating. Around 50 people have been taken to a local Red Cross shelter for displaced residents.

The tornado struck during the semifinal game of the SEC Basktetball Tournament between Mississippi State and Alabama. Play was stopped with around 2 minutes to go in overtime when heavy wind could be heard outside with rippling of the roof. Damage was done to the roof as debris fell to the floor. No injuries were reported in the Dome. “I thought it was a tornado or a terrorist attack,” said Mississippi State guard Ben Hansbrough.

The storm arrived with little forewarning. A tornado warning was issued for the downtown area a few minutes before the storm hit. “Ironically, the guy behind me got a phone call saying there was a tornado warning,” said Lisa Lynn, who was attending the game at the Georgia Dome. “And in two seconds, we heard the noise and things started to shake. It was creepy.”

The CNN Center in downtown Atlanta was severely damaged, especially in the atrium, where the ravaged ceiling allowed water to pour in. Police closed several streets near the CNN Center because of the debris, which included power lines, billboards, and even office chairs.

The Omni Hotel, which is attached to the CNN Center, also sustained damage, with many of its windows shattered. Visitors at the hotel were evacuated to the exhibition hall at street level. “It was crazy. There was a lot of windows breaking and stuff falling,” said Terrence Evans, a valet at the hotel.

At Centennial Olympic Park, located near CNN and the Omni Hotel, two Olympic torch sculptures had fallen over, and a performance pavilion was destroyed. A high-rise dorm at Georgia State University was damaged by the tornado, as evidenced by a large hole in the building’s 14th floor. University students were evacuated on buses.

According to Georgia Power, more than 13,000 of their customers are currently without electricity. Crews are working to fix downed power lines, but they said it would be difficult with all the debris.

Another large storm, currently in Mississippi, is heading towards Atlanta, and is forecast to arrive around 3 p.m. National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Leary said Friday’s storm could be “nothing to compare with what’s coming in tomorrow”.

All downtown events scheduled to occur Saturday have been cancelled. This includes the city’s Saint Patrick’s Day parade. The remaining SEC tournament games are to be played at Georgia Tech‘s Alexander Memorial Coliseum, located in the undamaged midtown.